The Platy fish is a freshwater type of fish that is often kept in aquariums. These small, colorful fish are popular because they are easy to take care of and come in many different shapes and patterns. It’s important to set up your tank properly for these little guys,! Setting up a tank for Platy fish is not as easy as it might sound. It would help if you kept in mind many things before doing so and some things that you should avoid at all costs. But How To Set Up A Proper Tank For Platy Fish?
You can set up a tank for Platy fish by starting with the basics, like choosing the right tank size and heater/filter setup; add substrates that will make your life easier when it comes time to clean or maintain your aquarium.
Keep lots of live plants in there so they can act as natural filters, and your Platies can hide if they’ve got some aggression to work out on each other; create hiding spots for them by adding driftwood or rocks that make interesting shapes and curves in the aquarium.
This blog post will go over the basics of creating a great environment for your fish and what mistakes you may make along the way.
How To Set Up A Proper Tank For Platy Fish?
You can use a tropical fish tank to keep your platy. Tropical tanks are made to provide a warm and humid environment ideal for these fishes’ growth. This aquarium should be kept between 75-86 degrees Fahrenheit, with pH levels ranging from six to eight point five.
You should keep The water parameter like hardness, alkalinity, and carbonate hardness between 100 to 150 ppm. You can set up a proper tank for Platy fish with the following steps:
Choose The Right Tank
Let’s start with the basics. First, you’ll need a tank that holds at least five to ten gallons of water. Platies are small fish, but they still need plenty of room to swim around and get comfortable in their new home. You can find tanks for sale online or at some pet stores if you don’t already have one!
The tank you use for your Platy fish must have an appropriate size, depending on how many of them are there in the aquarium.
If they feel comfortable and safe in their habitat, then these fishes will grow faster as well. Moreover, it is also important to choose the right kind of tank.
It should not have sharp edges. It would help if you cleaned them regularly. And a heater is needed for warming up the water in the winter season.
Add Substrates, Gravels, Or Sand
Depending on what looks good inside your tank, you can add various substrates like gravel or sand to your Platy fish tanks.
However, you must be careful while choosing the substrate as it will create a huge impact on your fish and plants in the long run.
Ensure that your substrate has no sharp edges, or it can hurt your fishes when they move around inside their habitat.
In addition, make sure that you choose dark-colored substrates if you are keeping this fish in a planted tank.
You can choose lighter-colored substrates if you want to put your fishes at the center of attraction and not on the substrate itself. However, keeping sand as a substrate is one of the best ideas for any aquarium, especially if live plants grow inside or around these sands.
Keep Lots Of Live Plants
Platies are schooling fish, and they like to stick together. If you have a planted tank, then it’s best if your Platy stays with the group for most of the time so that they can feel safe in their environment.
Most aquarium plants provide shelter and food for these fishes, making them very happy and healthy. These plants will also allow them to feel comfortable in their habitat as they can hide inside the plant whenever necessary.
Create Hiding Spots
We already know that Platy fish are schooling fishes, so it’s important for you to create hiding spots where they can spend some time alone when needed.
For your Platy to feel safe, you’ll need to create some hiding spots for them. Then, you can use rocks or driftwood for Platy fish to move around the tank without any problem.
If these fish are stressed out, it will affect their lifespan and overall health, which is not good!
Use Filter, Heater, Air Pumps, Light, And Necessary Equipment
There are certain equipment that you must have in your aquarium to keep the fishes happy and healthy.
For example, a filter will ensure that there is always clean water present inside the tank for your fish to live long lives. If any dirt or debris enters their habitat, then it can negatively affect their health.
In addition, you’ll need to have an air pump with an airstone or bubble filter to provide oxygen for your Platy fish and other aquatic life inside the tank.
Moreover, light is also necessary to ensure that these fishes get enough daylight to stay healthy throughout their lives.
You can choose to have a light in your tank or not, depending on the overall look you want inside your aquarium.
Things To Keep In Mind Before Keeping Platy Fish In Your Tank
There are a few things that you need to keep in mind before keeping Platy Fish:
Cycling The Aquarium Water
Yes, before adding any fishes into their new habitat, we must talk about cycling the water.
Cycling means the process of establishing a biological filter in an aquarium that ensures proper waste removal.
To do so, you need to set up your tank and add some friendly bacteria into it that will break down fish wastes along with uneaten food.
You can buy them from an aquatic pet store or collect them from another aquarium.
Acclimation Time
It is essential to gradually introduce your tank fish into the new environment, even if it’s a huge difference between old and new water parameters.
The best way to do this is by adding small amounts of water from their former habitat in the bag into the main tank every 15 minutes or so until the bag is empty and the fish are moved out.
Water Parameters Check-Up
Once you have introduced your little friend to their new home, it’s time to check up on water parameters. You can follow these tips:
Don’t use tap or faucet water for aquariums; instead, buy a good quality dechlorinator from a fish store.
Always buy your new aquarium water from the same place, so you can check its parameters before adding it into the tank.
There will be no sudden changes to the new environment this way, and all of your fishes are going to feel much more comfortable in their new home right away.
Here are some of them:
Check the water temperature at least once a day using a thermometer. If it’s not between 62-84 F (17-29 C), use your heater or cooler accordingly.
Test your water’s pH balance by using a test kit so you can make sure it stays between six and eight (slightly acidic).
If the number is higher or lower, purchase chemicals from an aquarium store to adjust it accordingly.
If you don’t want to do this on your own, consider purchasing one of the complete kits available for fish tanks.
Remember to test your water’s general hardness every week or two depending on how many new fishes you introduce and their size as well, so they won’t stress out your Platies too much if the numbers change a bit. If it’s higher than about 25 ppm, use some distilled water to make it lower.
Managing A Quarantine Tank
You can use this tank to quarantine your sick fishes, new ones before introducing them into the main aquarium, and any fish that may have been injured or attacked by others.
This way, you’ll prevent diseases from spreading throughout your community of Platy fish.
Make sure to follow these steps:
Use a smaller tank for a quarantine, so you can easily transfer your fish if needed.
Don’t overcrowd the tank with too many fishes, and don’t feed them during this period either. Instead of regular food, give them live plants as they act as natural filters in the aquarium and provide safe hiding places (and tasty treats) to sick or stressed-out Platy fish.
Use a heater and filter during this period, but make sure to turn the temperature down to about 75 F (24 C) so it won’t kill all of your helpful bacteria as usual heated water would.
Turn on the light for at least 12 hours a day because Platies are diurnal animals that need some lighting to feel comfortable in their new home.
Perform Water Changes
To make sure your aquarium water is clean and safe for your little buddies, you need to change some of it every week.
You can do so by following these steps:
Mix dechlorinated fresh or saltwater in the tank; take a few gallons (15-20 liters) out with you using a bucket; siphon out the waste from the gravel; put everything back after it’s clean.
If you want to speed up this process, add your dechlorinator in advance and place a piece of charcoal over filter sponges so they can absorb some of those leftover chemicals for later use.
Mistakes You Might Make While Setting Up Platy Fish Tank
Platies are pretty easy to keep, and they’re a great choice for beginners, but that doesn’t mean you can forget about all of the rules we’ve just mentioned above. If your fish seem unhappy or unhealthy, it’s probably because you’re not following the steps correctly. Here are some aquarium beginner’s mistakes that you might make while you set up the platy tank in a proper way:
- Not using a heater or filter or putting it in the wrong place
- Overcrowding your tank with too many fish (no more than five)
- Putting substrate like gravels in the aquarium that is just way too big for your fish
- Keeping your tank in the direct sunlight for too long
- Not cycling your tank at all before adding any new fish or plants, which are likely to die within a few weeks if you don’t cycle it first. Also, it will be difficult to get ammonia levels down enough without this step.
- Overfeeding your aquarium fish and overstocking an uncycled tank are beginners’ two biggest mistakes when they’re first starting.
Conclusion
In conclusion, you should now know how to set up a proper tank for Platy fish. However, you should also be aware of some common mistakes and how to avoid them.
Remember, if you’re in doubt about something, just ask an expert or do your own research before setting up the tank so you’ll have a healthy community of fish instead of dead ones. Good luck!